Punahou sweeps state swimming championships

Punahou sophomore Sydnee Witty won all four of the races she entered on Saturday. Dennis Oda / Star-Advertiser

Punahou took the boys and girls team titles at the K Mark Takai State Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday, fueled by individual performances by Sydnee Whitty and Lia Foster, who won every event they entered. The Buffanblu boys went down to the last relay to beat Maryknoll and Mid-Pacific for that crown.

Here is a little historical perspective from each event, which included two meet records:

Girls diving
Punahou senior Deborah Wen repeated, the first to do it since Nikki Imanaka of Castle in 2013-14. The ILH has taken the title three years in a row.

Boys diving
Hawaii Prep junior Joar Bergland took the title, the first BIIF athlete to win it since Michael Aki of Hilo in 1984. The ILH had won the event 17 straight years before this year.

Girls 200 medley relay
Punahou won it for the fourth straight year, with Lia Foster and Maddie Balish swimming on the team all four years and sophomore Lyra Gonzalez swimming on it last year. Sophomore Daralyn Wen was the new member of the team, taking over for graduated senior Natassia Dunn.

Boys 200 medley relay
Maryknoll won the event for the first time and broke the record held by 2011 Hawaii Prep in the process. Seniors Albert Zhi, M.J. Mao and Keenan Lee were joined by junior Edmund Shiu to set it. It is the first time three seniors contributed to a win in the event since 2013 Kamehameha. The ILH has won the race six years in a row.
Girls 200 free
Maui Prep junior Kysha Altura won the event over a stacked field that included Jasmine O’Brien of Seabury Hall, Iolani’s Cagla Brennan, Punahou’s Nohea Lilieikis and LeGrand Pound of Sacred Hearts. Pound, a junior, won the race the previous two years but finished sixth this year. Pound was attempting to become the first girl to sweep the event over four years since Celeste Jacroux of Punahou from 1989-1992. Altura is the first MIL athlete to win the race since Jennifer Cahill of Baldwin in 2009. She is just the second girl from Maui Prep to win a state race, joining Danielle Jefferies in the 100 fly in 2012.

Boys 200 free
Mid-Pacific’s Michael Petrides won the event to become the first sophomore since Renny Richmond of Seabury Hall in 2011 to win it. ILH swimmers have won the event five years in a row. If he can win it the next two years, Petrides would be the first three-time champ in the event since Jack Pope of Lahainaluna in 2008. Petrides is the first Mid-Pacific swimmer to win the 200 free since Gary Hosaka in 1970-71.

Girls 200 individual medley
Lia Foster of Punahou, a senior, repeated in the event to become the first to do so since former teammate Jasmine Mau in 2013. The ILH has won this race three years in a row.

Boys 200 individual medley
M.J. Mao of Maryknoll won the even this year as a senior, the first time a Maryknoll boy has won it. Before last year, Maryknoll had never won a state race.
Girls 50 free
Punahou sophomore Sydnee Whitty took the race this year, the first sophomore to win since Kauai’s Yasmine Ware in 2013. Whitty is the first Punahou girl to win the race since Rachel Fujita in 2009 and is in line to become the first three time champ since Michelle Yoshida of Punahou in 2008.

Boys 50 free
MId-Pacific senior Dawson Sloan won the race with defending champion Albert Zhi of Maryknoll not entered. He is the first Owl to win the race, ILH swimmers have won it three years in a row.
Girls 100 fly
Maui Prep junior Kysha Altura won the race to take the crown from Punahou’s Maddie Balish, who finished fifth. She is the first Maui Prep swimmer to win the event since Danielle Jefferies in 2012 and has a chance to become the first girl to repeat in the event since Jasmine Mau of Punahou in 2014.

Boys 100 fly
Maryknoll’s M.J. Mao repeated in the event, the first boy to do so since Renny Richmond of Seabury hall polished off four in 2013. Mao holds the event record from last season but was not able to threaten it this year.

Girls 100 free
Sydney Whitty of Punahou took the event for her second gold of the meet with two-time defending champion LeGrand Pound of Sacred Hearts finishing third. An upperclassman has not won this race since Aja Grande of Iolani in 2014. Whitty is the first Punahou girl to win the race since Rachel Fujita in 2010. She has a chance to become the first three-time winner in the event since Summer Harrison of Mid-Pacific in 2013.

Boys 100 free
Dawson Sloan of Mid-Pacific won the event for a sprint sweep, the first Owl to do so. An ILH boy has won this event eight straight years.

Girls 500 free
Jasmine O’Brien of Seabury Hall shocked the meet by winning the race and breaking Rebecca Walton’s record from 2015 by three hundredths of a second. She is the first sophomore to win the race since Sydney Kimura of Iolani in 2013 and the first MIL athlete to win it since Jennifer Cahill of Baldwin in 2009. O’Brien is the first Seabury Hall swimmer to win the event and she has a chance to become the first three-timer since Ashley Swart of Kaiser in 2002.

Boys 500 free
Michael Petrides of Mid-Pacific beat defending champion Dongjin Hwang in the final after losing to him in the preliminaries for his second gold of the day. Petrides is the first underclassman to win the race since Kacy Johnson of Iolani won as a freshman in 2009 and has a chance to become the first three-time winner since Jack Pope of Lahainaluna in 2008. He is the first Mid-Pacific swimmer to win the event.

Girls 200 free relay
Punahou won the event for the third straight year behind super sophomore Sydnee Whitty’s third gold. Maddie Balish was the lone senior on the squad and she has been all three winning teams. Sophomores Lyra Gonzalez and Chanel Ng also swam in the event. Whitty and Gonzalez swam on the team last year as freshmen.

Boys 200 free relay
Punahou won the event for the fourth straight year, the first time that has been done. Junior Sean Kwon and sophomore Tyler Kawakami swam on the winning relay last year and were joined this year by junior Jake Gaughan and freshman Alika Naone. It is the first time a team has won this event without a senior since 2012 Kamehameha with Ryan Stack and Kanoa Kaleoaloha.
Girls 100 back
Lia Foster of Punahou repeated in the event, the first to do so since Hawaii Prep’s Anu Nihipali in 2013. She also won as a freshman, making her this first three time winner since Rachel Cote of Punahou in 2008.

Boys 100 back
Jack Lee repeated in the event, he was known as Sung Je Lee last year and is the first to double since Makoa Alvarez of Campbell in 2015 and the first Iolani swimmer to win two years in a row since Hong Zhe Sun in 2003.

Girls 100 breast
Maddie Balish of Punahou wrapped up her career with her third straight win in this event, the first girl to win three years in a row since Kristine Hayashi in 1996 for Baldwin. Her times got slower each year, but she was still able to touch the wall first. She is the first senior to win since Cara Jernigan of Kealakehe in 2014. She is the first Punahou girl to win the race since Brittany Beauchan in 2007.

Boys 100 breast
Kamehameha sophomore Jack Horner took the race in a fast 58.51 but did not threaten MJ Mao’s record from the previous year. Horner is the first Kamehameha swimmer to win the event since Kila Pickering in 2009 and has a chance to become the first three-time winner since Kekoa Taparra of Kamehameha in 2008. The ILH has won this event three years in a row.

Girls 400 free relay
Punahou won the race for the second straight year with Lia Foster, Sydnee Whitty and Chanel Ng swimming on the team both years. They were joined by sophomore Daralyn Wen, who took over for fellow sophomore Nohea Lileikis. This team is the first to repeat since 2012 Punahou.

Boys 400 free relay
Punahou needed to win the event to win the meet and repeated without a senior on the team. Junior Jake Gaughan and Sophomore Tyler Kawakami swam on the team last year and were joined by junior Schuyler Cole and freshman Alika Naone this year. The Buffanblu were the first to repeat since 2013 Kamehameha. The Buffanblu are the first team to win the relay without a senior since 2012 Kamehameha.

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